It’s Time

 

For those still somehow refusing to admit that the Republican Party has been fatally wounded and no longer represents limited government, the rights of states, freedom of religion, the backing and friendship of our NATO allies, the reduction of federal debt, a respect for the judiciary, or even basic constitutional rights. Many have clung to this party because of one issue. The sanctity of life. For this regime, it was never about saving the lives of unborn children. It has always been about controlling women. You need only look at the mothers dying because they can’t find healthcare when they have pregnancy complications or the administration’s total disregard for human life or the health of anyone once exiting the womb to know this. 

Any original well-intentioned policies have been defeated and the entire establishment is shattered.

Please hear me out. We have moved into a period of moral reckoning. The cognitive dissonance must end. 

For years, tenacious members of the party have been rejecting the truth they see with their own eyes (and hear with their own ears).  Fox (and now other mainstream media) spew lies and the people soak it up because it gives them someone else to blame. The propaganda machine is staggering. Remnant Republicans have protected their carefully constructed world view, assigning religious meaning and patriotism to the undeserving and the unholy, even going as far as rejecting the words of the Christ they claim- in favor of sweeping power grabs and “owning” the alleged “libs”. They’ll live in a closet, eat canned rations, hand their dollars to oligarchs, and destroy their own grandchild’s future as long as the “left” has it worse. It boggles the mind. The Democrats are not blameless by any means. But Republicans (now in name only) control everything and the whole system is flat-lining. Folks supporting this administration have bolstered and defended an earthly empire of greed. I refuse to believe they all have hatred towards others in their hearts. I know some of them to be good and well-intentioned people. I believe many of them felt compelled because if they admitted they were wrong about this man and his ilk, their painstakingly guarded interpretation of the plan for repairing what they were repeatedly told was broken would fall apart and they would be forced to reckon with the level of destruction and abuse they so vehemently defended because they believed it a righteous means to an end. For years they excused atrocities and didn’t just do it in their own names, but in the name of God. Making it right is a painful process after rationalizing away the mounting evidence for so long. Like all of us, they wanted to make the unusual happenings of our current reality fit into their hopes and expectations. Though some (such as the inhumane people working for ICE) have evil and hate-filled hearts and intentions to match the darkness of this administration, I believe many Trump supporters truly believed the lies they were told and they sought a better end. This is not what they anticipated.  

But now it is past time for them to admit they were deceived. To start caring about their neighbors and come alongside anyone who still holds a soul to work for what is good and true. To patch together what is left of kindness and a dying democracy. To act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly. To reach back, deep into their hearts until the words of Jesus ring louder than the nationalistic rhetoric they’ve been fed by religious systems gone horribly off the rails. 

Crazy Cat Lady

I painstakingly crafted my cat, Irene an “activity” to try to stretch her little feline mind. 

After watching her interact with it for ten minutes, I honestly don’t understand how she survived on the streets of Philadelphia as a feral cat. I think Stray Cat Blues was punking me when they penned her sob story and collected my three-figure adoption fee. 

Irene’s pitiful critical thinking skills are clearly a handicap. The idea was for her to figure out how to get the cat treats out of the strung-up paper tubes which had been meticulously cut from a cardboard wrapping paper roll and strung together with an upholstery needle and a tawny hue of fuzzy yarn. The bottoms of the tubes are just barely folded in against themselves and I left the top of the tubes gaping conveniently open so that if Irene flipped them over with her razor-sharp claws, the treats would easily fall out, making it obvious how to retrieve more. 

One of the incredibly smelly treats escaped when Irene accidentally flipped one of the tubes. The incident occurred as she moved her stout frame and impossibly round belly through the tubed length of yarn, bunting the tubes with her cheeks to mark the rattling cups on the string as her own. She was shocked to discover the treat resting on the basement floor beneath the contraption and assumed it had fallen like manna from heaven. It might as well have done so. 

The rest of the treats are getting stale as I write this, twelve hours later. She is definitely more affectionate than she was four years ago, but let’s just say my cat is not an apex predator. 

In fact, hanging that string of treats was like painting a “Welcome Hatfield Mice” sign in my basement. 😹